In late 2369, seven months before the ship's disappearance, Silva La Forge assumed command of the starship. To celebrate, Captain La Forge hosted a party for her crew. Her son Geordi La Forge attended the party; however, he did not come over and speak with his mother.

The following year, three weeks before her disappearance, the Hera received several new transfers including a chief engineer who liked to "juice" the engines. She was considered by her captain as one of the best technicians in the fleet. A week later, the Hera was in the same sector as the USS Enterprise-D. At this point, the chief engineer was experimenting with the warp drive.

Ten days before the ship's disappearance, the Hera traveled close to the planetMarijne VII before arriving at Deep Space 3. A day later, after receiving her orders, the ship departed DS3 on a routine courier mission, and was in communication with the space station for five days. Shortly afterwards, the station failed to establish a connection with the ship, and three days later, the Hera was declared missing. The ship's last reported position was over 300 light years from Marijne VII.

A massive search mounted by the USS Excelsior and the USS Noble failed to discover any trace of the ship. The ship was believed lost and a memorial service was later held for the crew on Vulcan. (TNG: "Interface")